|
This Christmas, Hinojas, 51, is performing his regular routine
dressed as Santa Claus to bring a little holiday cheer for
passers-by.
"We are dressing up as Santa Claus to make people feel that it's
Christmas again, that we need to be giving and loving to one
another, and be respectful of other motorists on the road,"
Hinojas said on Friday morning, as he twirled and dipped while
trucks, buses and jeepneys sped past him.
Hinojas, who started directing traffic on Manila's congested
highways in 2005, first thought of dancing his second year into
the job as a method of keeping fit.
Over time, he noticed that motorists paid more attention to his
hand signals when they were matched with flashy footwork.
The added benefit to Santa's dance routine is that it keeps
things light-hearted, for both Hinojas and others around him.
"Our traffic here is so bad, so this is our small way of
bringing joy to people," said the policeman dressed in a
red-and-white Santa costume, paired with a vest bearing
reflective yellow and green stripes.
Onlookers are certainly amused by Hinojas' moves, pedestrians
stopping to take snapshots.
"Everyone loves what he's doing", said jeepney driver Frankie
Gustilo. "All traffic enforcers should be like that so that
everyone will be happy."
(Reporting by Ronn Bautista, Writing by Karishma Singh; Editing
by Nick Macfie)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
